So, what are you drinking now?

@Barnbip Nice to see you also liked it. Someone here reviewed it recently and gave it raving reviews - I do like the standard 10yrs old. Hope to try the 13 somehow...

@BlueNote - I'd been tempted for a while (being a bit of a Ledaig fan boy) but by the time I had the cash they'd sold out and now going for silly money on Amazon - already! I opted for the 17 Pulteney instead - fair trade, I say!

@RianC £94 on Amazon (!) but still £69 at Master of Malt (which I think was the initial price too as I checked on it when someone reviewed it here a while back).

@RikS - sold out at MoM last time I looked?! If they're back in excellent news but I'll have to put buying it on hold for a while . . .

@RianC My bad... you're right. Out of stock...

@RianC Absolutely. Can't go wrong with the Pulteney 17. Has anyone been able to substantiate the rumour that it will be discontinued?

@BlueNote - I've not seen anything and it still seems to be in stock everywhere, so who knows?

@BlueNote The Masterclass presenter at SOT confirmed the OP 17 and 21 are discontinued. The 25 is replacing it.

@Nozinan I imagine the 25 will be pricey. Do you know if they are planning a 15 or 18 in the lineup?

@BlueNote, as much as I would like to say "yes, OP will be launching a 15YO", that ain't gonna happen....NAS brother.

@paddockjudge NAS...Grrrr!

@BlueNote @paddockjudge @RianC @Nozinan so... thinking of Ledaig Amontillado 13 which ran out quickly and is now up from £69 to £95 in a few weeks time, and e.g. Glendronach 15... does this mean that buying a OP17 might be an investment now? Never tried it but you guys seem to really appreciate it, and if it's being discontinued...

@RikS You can probably thank Ralfy's gushing review of the Ledaig for that quick price jump.

I just finished one of my two OP 17s. There are two left at my local liquor store. but they are over $200 each, so I am not ready to pop. If you can still get it at a reasonable price I would say go for it. Whether for drinking or investment you probably can't go wrong.

Cheers

@BlueNote here in the UK it seems you can still get it for £75/$101usd/130cad

@OdysseusUnbound sorry for my late reply,I forgot in my haste to write down the age statement for any of the whiskys baring the obvious (Lot 40 and Wiser's 35). The Eleven souls is 49% ABV is basically a blend containing almost every permutation of grain/distillation type/barrel type that they produce. I have enough notes for a quick review and time permitting will do a little write-up.

The Canada 2018 blend was nice but really seemed more along the lines of what one would expect from a Canadian whisky, forward on the oak and sweet elements, a touch of rye to bring forth spices and a little bite..

Had a wee nip of JD SB and onto Amrut Fusion - down to the last 1/6th or so of the bottle and I'm getting lots of peach and apricot notes tonight. Also, it seems more malty and beer like than before, less peaty too.

It's doing very well and this is the point in my bottles' lives that I make a point of finishing them off quickly! Yum yum

Yamazaki 12 yo. This 7 years open bottle still tastes quite good, and the nose is exquisite. Too bad that this costs 90% more here now than it did in 2011.

I decided to open my Highwood Ninety 20 Year Old, and I'm glad I did. Wow ! This is a terrific whisky. I'm beginning to understand what Don Livermore meant when he said a good barrel could impart some "rye" notes to a whisky that contained no rye-based spirit at all. Decades of Richness is right. This is a very thick, full and rich whisky.

Preparing a few samples for an upcoming road trip. Poured and identified some very interesting expressions.

I kept myself company with the remains of a dram I tried to drink yesterday, while preparing audit materials for my political riding association (of which I am outgoing CFO). I had poured Springbank 12 CS because of a little misunderstanding around my inventory. Tonight I added a few drops of Longrow Burgundy wood finish. The result was very effervescent.

@OdysseusUnbound Burgundy or white label?

@Nozinan White. The burgundy was pictured when I ordered it from the KGBO, but it was white when I picked it up. I’ll have to give it a few weeks of air before I review it, but I’m surprised at how complex it is for a 100% Corn whisky. There’s a little something at the end of the palate vaguely reminiscent of a rum cask finishing (brown sugar + some slightly vegetal/herbal notes?) though I don’t think Highwood does that. It’s somewhat reminiscent of an excellent batch of Forty Creek Copper Pot, on steroids. But not exactly the same...

@OdysseusUnbound _ Hallelujah! You've seen the light. When experienced barrels impart a spicy rye note to long aged corn; this is known as ethanolysis. The alcohol literally slashes away at the barrel and releases lignan, THE MOLECULE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RYE CHARACTERISTIC IN DOUBLE COLUMN DISTILLED WHISKY. Coincidentally, the good doctor also states that lignan in peat contributes to the character of peated whisky. Barrels, in the correct climate, will continue to give until they fall apart.

Glengoyne 18 tonight. Not a bad dram, but it would benefit from a little more oomf than its 43% ABV provides.

@BlueNote I've looked at this one a few times, but $170 CAD for something described as "soft, gentle, and fruity" bottled at 43% ABV is not for me. At least I've learned something from my "meh" experience with Glenlivet 18 (which I bought before it shot up in price). Have you tried their Cask Strength offering? That one is more reasonably priced (probably much younger) and definitely has more "oompf".

@BlueNote - Think I've mentioned before - I've tried a few Glengoynes inc. the 21 and wasn't overly impressed with any of them tbh. I agree with @OdysseusUnbound, they need to give them a bit more oomph!

@OdysseusUnbound; @RianC I got this one at around $130, but it's definitely not one I would buy again. I could get 2 Kilkeranns or a couple of Kilchomans or a Uigeadail with some change back for that kind of money.

Castle Brands of New York product Jefferson's Bourbon free commercial tasting:

1) standard Jefferson's Small Batch; I don't usually like this one, but this batch I did like.

2) Jefferson's Reserve; the classic, and best buy of the brand, in my opinion

3) Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea, their first wheated batch. This one was OK, but I bet they do a better job with their next iteration of wheated bourbon.

4) Jefferson's Reserve Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Finish; the best of the finishes I tried. This one has a great nose and a very good palate

5) Jefferson's Reserve Sauternes Finish; OK, but I don't need a bottle of this one.

6) Jefferson's Reserve Old Rum Cask Finish (13-16 yo Gosling's Rum barrels); also pretty good, but not compelling

7) Jefferson's Barrel Finished Manhattan; cocktail in a bottle. Not bad, if you want a cocktail in a bottle.

Chocolates were paired to go with the whiskeys, though there was little presentation of details related to the two varieties of chocolate. Castle Brands has a distillery which has been in operation for 4 years now, though not with stock aged long enough to supply their product lines. I asked if they would distill rye whiskey. 'No' was the answer, together with, "We haven't found any sourced rye which we liked as well as we liked the Alberta Distillers Limited sourced rye." which had previously supplied their Jefferson's 10 yo Straight Rye Whiskey. The head rep had a bottle of the Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea Cask Strength out in his car and was willing to open it and pour it, but bureaucratic rules forced him not to and me not to have a taste of the one I wanted most. I did get a nice Jefferson's baseball cap, though.

Finished off my bottle if Benromach 10yo. So good. We’ll meet again.

@nooch Standard of CS? I really enjoy the standard, but I've also seen plenty rambling exaltations about how very VERY good the CS is...? :)

@RikS standard. At the time the standard was $55. The CS was $100. I had tried both at Spirit of Toronto and didn’t see the price jump as worth it at all. Now the 10 is $80. What a difference a year (and the lcbo taking advantage of positive reviews) makes.